Week 11: vs Tennessee Titans

FBG says: Tough matchup. The Colts offense continued their shift towards leaning more on the running game last week as Andrew Luck's pass attempts were down for the third straight week. Despite this shift, Luck continues to be extremely productive and efficient, completing over 71 percent of his passes in three straight games while passing for at least three touchdowns in six straight games. This offense continues to befuddle defenses with their unique use of three tight ends all contributing in different ways. Eric Ebron has been a scoring machine this season, but his productivity was thought to be at risk with the return of Jack Doyle. This prediction has been far from coming true, as Ebron continues to be used all over the field in a variety of ways, especially in the red zone. Jack Doyle is just as involved as well despite his lack of touchdowns, with the Colts even feeding him a pass lining up at fullback last week. Even Mo Alie-Cox found the end zone for the second straight week as this Colts coaching staff is really playing the matchups to get these tight ends involved. T.Y. Hilton is having a down year considering more was expected from him with Andrew Luck under center, actually second on the team in targets behind Ebron. Hilton is still consistently involved in this offense though and remains their top downfield threat just waiting for a breakout game.
That breakout game from Hilton certainly could be a possibility this week as he looks to square off against Malcolm Butler on most snaps. Despite improved play in recent weeks, Butler remains the biggest liability for this Titans secondary as he has repeatedly fallen behind in coverage and shown he can be beaten by the big plays that have signed Hilton's paycheck for his entire career. Both Adoree Jackson and Logan Ryan, along with these Titans safeties, have shown to be quite proficient though, and this passing offense as a whole has done a great job limiting opposing offenses to just 228 passing yards per game--sixth-fewest in the league. The defensive line for Tennessee is getting consistent pressure with rookie Harold Landry is showing up in a big way, however, this Colts offensive line has allowed just 10 sacks on the season. What may be the most important stat for this matchup though is noting the Titans' proficiency against tight ends. They have given up the fewest fantasy points per game to the position with opposing tight ends averaging just four receptions and 33 yards with zero touchdowns when facing Tennessee. A good portion of this can be chalked up to their schedule, however, as they faced a Gronk-less Patriots squad last week and gave up over 100 yards to Zach Ertz earlier this season, who was the only decent tight end they have faced. The personnel should match up well as these linebackers can cover while the Titans safeties are stout--so the Colts will need to continue with their unique playcalling to find holes against the Titans in this one.

Recent Stats and Projections

WEEK

OPP

oSNAP

REC

YD

TD

FumL

Pts

7

vs BUF

6

1

17

1

0

7.7

11

vs TEN

PROJ-Tremblay

*

0

*

*

*

*

11

vs TEN

PROJ-Bloom

*

0

*

*

*

*

Weekly Performance vs TE 1, TE 12, TE 24

Percentile ranks

Erik Swoope's percentile rank in each category, among TE with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2018 Week 7 vs BUF (1 / 1 / 17 / 1 rec)

Erik Swoope continues to see looks in the red zone with Jack Doyle absent from the line up. Swoope ran a nice post route from the slot and caught a 17 yard touchdown from Luck.

2018 Week 5 vs NE (3 / 3 / 44 / 1 rec)

Erik Swoope was active as a result of the Jack Doyle injury and did not get involved in the offense until late in the game. Swoope made his first catch down the seam for a 14 yard touchdown. Swope made a 5 yard catch underneath. Swoope made a 26 yard catch on a back shoulder throw from Luck that took the Colts down to the 1 yard line.